It is one thing to acknowledge that there is a creator God, but another to know him personally. Yes, you can know God personally. He can forgive you of the painful mistakes of your past and help you find freedom, peace, love and joy. He can guide you through the day to day struggles of this life and allow you to discover real contentment. He can promise you an eternal future with him in heaven. Sound too good to be true? It is not. God wants you to choose to have that genuine relationship with him today!

Almost one-third of the world’s population identify themselves as Christians.1 Many of these individuals have testimonies that support one of the most compelling proofs for Christianity – a changed life. Millions of true stories exist about how God dramatically rescued someone from a life of misconduct, guilt, emptiness and misery, and gave that person a life of true peace, satisfaction and inexpressible joy2 (to view several testimonies on this website, visit the Video Gallery). God wants you to know that you, too, can experience this transformation!

Let us first consider some of the foundational elements about God, his nature, and why we need to be saved from our wrongful ways (sins) in order to have a relationship with God. As you read the following paragraphs, keep in mind that even though it may seem hopeless for man, God has written an amazing ending.

God Created Us to Be with Him

The Bible proclaims that in the beginning, God created the heavens, the earth, and all living things, including the first man and woman (Adam and Eve). God gave Adam, with Eve as his helper, the responsibility of guarding and caring for their home, the Garden of Eden. When God created them, they did not know evil and experienced perfect fellowship with God. This is how God designed life for us, but then something happened to change that.

God had given Adam and Eve just one command and that was to NOT eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if they did, God warned them that they would “surely die” (Genesis 2:17).3 Adam and Eve, however, were tempted by Satan and ate the fruit. They disobeyed God (they sinned), which broke their fellowship with him.

Our Sins Separate Us from a Perfect and Holy God

When Adam and Eve sinned, they began to die. It started with a spiritual death (a relational and moral separation from God) and then eventually a physical one. This sin and death was not confined to them, but spread to their descendants (all people in the future, including you and me). Each of us is born with a sinful nature that is selfish and corrupt. God, on the other hand, is perfect and holy. “Who is like you, majestic in holiness” (Exodus 15:11), “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13).4

From the time sin entered the world, people have tried to remove its shame from their lives by doing good things. The Israelites thought they could please God, but God gave them the 10 Commandments to show them that they could not live up to those standards on their own. Neither can we. Later, God gave the Israelites a sacrificial system in which every time they sinned (lied, got angry, lusted, etc.), they were to sacrifice a specific, flawless animal. This system offered a way for people to experience forgiveness of sin, but it was only temporary. As a result, animals had to be sacrificed over and over, providing further evidence that people were separated from God and in need of help.

 

Even today, people think that being kind and doing good works somehow cancels out the sin in their lives. It does not. The Bible is clear that our best deeds are not good enough for a holy God. “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).5 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But remember, do not give up because God has a plan! Just keep reading a little further.

 

We Deserve Eternal Punishment for Our Sin

God is a god of love, but he is also a god of justice. He hates evil. To remain fair and uphold the holiness of his nature, God must punish sin. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” We all (every person who has ever lived, is living now and will ever live on earth) deserve death for our sin – even for one single misdeed. “There is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:3). We are all guilty.

The Bible states that the penalty for one’s sin is separation from God. This extends from life on earth into eternity where the sinner will be forever in a miserable place called hell. Hell is a real place and is referenced over 50 times in the Bible.6 It is a destination of extreme sadness, pain and separation. “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). “As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur” (Revelation 21:8).

God Loved Us So Much That He Sent His Son to Pay Our Penalty

The fate of people may seem very bleak at this point. But, there is GOOD NEWS! God loves us so much that he provided a way for our sins to be forgiven so that we can have a relationship with him now and into eternity. He did this by sending his only son, Jesus Christ, to earth to live a perfect and holy life, die as a sacrifice to pay for the penalty of our sin and then to rise from the dead so that we may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Romans 5:8 says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” There is no greater love!

How is Jesus worthy and acceptable of being the final sacrifice for our sin? First of all, he came to earth as fully man, but also fully God. The Bible teaches that there is one God in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus proved to be God in his virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-25), sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21), resurrection from the dead (John 19:38-20:31) and performance of over 30 documented miracles, which include when he multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish to feed over 5,000 people (Matthew 14:13-21), walked on the water (Mark 6:45-52), raised persons from the dead (Luke 7:11-17, John 11:38-44), restored sight to the blind (Mark 8:22-26, John 9:1-41), calmed a storm (Luke 8:22-25), healed sick people (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 1:40-45) and produced an astonishing catch of fish (Luke 5:3-9). There are also non-biblical sources, such as Quadratus, Barnabas and Justin Martyr that confirm Jesus’ miracles.7 Jesus’ humanity was demonstrated through such realities as being born of a woman, growing in wisdom, becoming weary, weeping and physically dying.

The Old Testament animal sacrifices could not ultimately pay for human sin. Humanity needed one of our own, a person without blemish, to take the punishment for all our sins. Jesus lived a sinless life and thus was able to be an acceptable sacrifice, experiencing death in our place, so that we can be forgiven. God’s love for us is truly amazing!

It was about 2000 years ago when Jesus came to save mankind. He was cruelly tortured and hanged on a cross where he died for the sins of the world. Just before Jesus died, he proclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30), meaning that the full price of our sins had been paid with his sacrifice. Jesus’ earthly mission to save us from our sins, however, was not complete until he rose from the dead. It is because Jesus overcame death that we are able to overcome the penalty of our sins (death) and receive his gift of eternal life – live forever with him in a glorious place called heaven.

In Revelation 21:1-22:5, the Bible describes heaven, the final home of those who are followers of Jesus Christ. It is an absolutely beautiful place, beyond our imagination, where we will be in God’s presence and able to have a relationship with him for eternity. There will be no death, no sickness, no sorrow, no crying and no pain. There will be no night for God himself will be the source of everlasting light. Heaven is a real place. A place of total perfection.

After Jesus rose from the dead, he was seen by others, the largest group being over 500 witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6), on several different occasions during a 40-day period. There are credible writings outside the Bible that also confirm this fact.8 Jesus proved throughout his life, death and resurrection that he was who he claimed to be, the son of God and worthy of taking away the sin of the world for those who follow him.

Is Jesus the Only Way to God?

There are many people who ask, “Aren’t all religions the same?” or “Don’t all religions lead to the same place?” The answer is “no” to both questions. The various world religions cannot all be true since there are major differences in their beliefs and doctrines. Christianity is the only religion that is factually supported by the trustworthiness of the Bible and provides its followers with the promise of eternal life in heaven. Jesus was very clear that there is only one way to God when he said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me” (John 14:6). So, is Jesus the only way to God? Yes!

 

How to Be Forgiven of Your Sins and Know God Personally

We must first realize that our salvation from sin is not something that we can earn. It is through God’s love and grace that we can accept his free gift of forgiveness. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

To come to faith in Christ, there are key steps a person must take:

 

  1. Accept what Jesus did on the cross in dying for your sins.
  2. Confess the sins in your life.
  3. Tell God you are truly sorry and ask him to forgive you.
  4. Turn away from continuing the patterns of sin.
  5. Make a lifetime commitment to follow Jesus.

 

Here is a sample prayer that one might say that addresses the steps above:

God, I believe in my heart that your son, Jesus, died on a cross to pay the penalty for my sin and that he rose again. I confess the many sins I have committed in my life and I am really sorry. Please forgive me of my sins. From now on, I am turning away from all sin. Today I am making a commitment to follow Jesus, obey his teachings and serve him for the rest of my life.

When you sincerely follow these steps, you will become a follower of Jesus Christ. You will have just made the most important decision of your life! You can have a relationship with Jesus on this earth and be with him forever in heaven! God wants for you to live a changed and exciting life for him: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God wants all his followers to have confidence in their faith in him and his promises: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). He wants us to know that once we make a commitment to him, it is forever and that nothing can separate us from him (Romans 8:38-39). Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).

Once you decide to follow Jesus and his teachings, he will begin to change your life. He sends his Holy Spirit to live within you and help guide you. You will not be alone. He loves you and will be right there with you every step of the way. As you proceed on this new journey, there are many things you can do to grow closer to him and better understand the Christian life. Discover more about these on the “Grow Your Faith,” “Video Gallery,” and “Got Questions?” pages. They can be beneficial even if you are still unsure about your relationship with God and have more questions.

1 “Global Christianity – A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population.” Pew Research Center. Pew Research center, 2011.
2 Fackerell, Michael. “Christian Testimonies – True Stories of God at Work.” Christian-faith.com. Michael Fackerell, 2007-2016.
3 The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008. [utilized for all Bible references unless otherwise noted]
4 The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995
5 Ibid.
6 “Hell.” Studies in the Book. Studiesinthebook, 2011.
7 Habermas, Gary R. The Historical Jesus. Joplin: College Press Publishing Company, 1996, p. 233-235.
8 Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities 18:3.; Martyr, Justin. First Apology, L. and Ignatius, Smyrneans, 3.